How to unblock filter on expresso machine?

Celticfire

This is probably a stupid question but here goes anyway.
Got a Krups espresso maker at Christmas. It came with 2 filters, 1cup and 2cup. The one cup will not allow any liquid through it at all. I've tried putting it in the dishwasher but no improvement. Any idea's how to rectify this?

Thanks

Gran Hermano

Try scrubbing it with an old toothbrush, what I use for my group head.

Sounds pretty clogged if even the dishwasher will not clean it.
Try the toothbrush with a paste made from dishwasher powder.
(Make sure to rinse well after).

rockbeer

Have you tried soaking it in a grouphead cleaning detergent like this?

It's a good idea to do this every so often anyway, as the oils build up quite quickly and taint the taste of the brew.

If that doesn't do the job, a new basket shouldn't cost more than a couple of euro.

Celticfire

rockbeer wrote: »

Have you tried soaking it in a grouphead cleaning detergent like this?

It's a good idea to do this every so often anyway, as the oils build up quite quickly and taint the taste of the brew.

If that doesn't do the job, a new basket shouldn't cost more than a couple of euro.

Never would have guessed such stuff was needed :eek: New to this home brewing lark. Any particular shops that would stock such an item?

Gran Hermano

I order mine from Ristretto, Home Store + More may have them in stock.

Are you dumping the used grounds out of the portafilter basket as soon as you've made the coffee? I've never encountered a basket as clogged as
yours sounds, but I empty the spent grinds straight away and rinse mine
under a tap. Leaving used ground coffee in the basket to sit and dry out is
bad.

Celticfire

Gran Hermano wrote: »

I order mine from Ristretto, Home Store + More may have them in stock.

Are you dumping the used grounds out of the portafilter basket as soon as you've made the coffee? I've never encountered a basket as clogged as
yours sounds, but I empty the spent grinds straight away and rinse mine
under a tap. Leaving used ground coffee in the basket to sit and dry out is
bad.

That could be the problem alright. 90% of the time I would rinse but sometimes I'd not do it for a while. Never thought all that much about it to be honest.

rockbeer

I'm pretty sure Brown Thomas in Grafton St. do some variety of that cleaning stuff in their espresso department on the top floor.

jackal

The fact that its only one basket that is blocked means its probably not the grouphead thats the problem, but the basket itself.

If its the same as my old krups, it will have a pressurised filter. from the top it looks like a traditional filter with hundreds of pinholes, but if you look at the bottom, there is actually only one pin size hole, which causes pressure to be built regardless of the tamping - meaning you get crema from almost anything.

Mine was very prone to getting blocked by an errant bit of coffee dust. Hold it up to the light and make sure you can see clearly through the hole from the bottom of the filter, poke the coffee out with a pin or paperclip if so.